Process of purifying air.



A. K. GROSS. PROUESS 0F PURIFYING AIIL APPLICATION rum) 13110.13. 1910.

Patented July 4, 1911.

Inventor,

. eolleets at the UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANSOIhl' K. CROSS, OF WINTHROP, MASSACHUSETTS PROCESS OF PURIFYING AIR.

I To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that .l, Axsox K. (noss, of Winthro in the eounty of Suffolk and State of lllassaehusetts, have invented eertain new and useful Improvements in .lroeessts of Purifying Air. of which the following is a. speeitieation.

My invention has for its objeet. first, the puritiea'tion of air fouled by dust and other foreign substanees by passing the air through water. and seeond the addition to this puritied air of as mueh oxygen as may be desirable.

i am aware that air is now puritied by passing it through water. and that. oxygen is added to air by bringing the air in eontaet with the tlt.(tlfltls otf various maehines. and also by the use of phosphorus and other ehemieals. but l believe that air has never been puritied by passing it through water and by means of eleetrolysis adding to the amount of oxygen eontained in the air a eertain pereentage of oxygen extracted from the water. lhough the washing of the air is old. and also the produetion ol oxygen by electrolysis, the eombination ot' these two methods eonstitutes. I believe. an entirely new proeess on whit-h I am entitled to a basic elaim. for many ditl'erent maehines may be eonstrueted in whieh the air may be washed by 'loreing itthrough water and then oxygenated by adding to it the oxygen whieh positive pole in the proce s of eleetrolysis.

My. invention eonsists in the use of an airtight box or ehamber adapted to hold water and provided with means for forcing a stream of air through the water and out. through a pipe by means of whit-h the pumped air may be eondueted wherever it is desired. In. addition to this method of purifying air which is in eonimon use. I pt'ovide means tor. produeing oxygen by eleetrolysis ot' the water and of adding it to the purilied air. thus making it possible to provide pure air in public buildings and eon veyanees and other plat-es where t'oul air now a danger to the health of the publie.

I attain the, objeets of my invention in a simple 'ay by the meehanism illustrated in th aeeon'i arr ving drawings in whieh--- Figure l a longitudinal section taken 1 ar the front wall ol tlumaehiue on the line l-- l o'l' ig. Fig. J is a eross-seetion taken on line 2- -il ot .l ig. l. liig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3--3 of ltlg'. l.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed December 13,

atented July 1-, 1911. 1910. Serial No. 597.136.

Fig. 1 is a oross-seet'ion through the adjustable pipe 5 for conveying the air stream from the first (:ompartment to the second.

The same rel erenee eharaeters indicate the I same parts in all the figures.

I the body ot the mat-lune eonsists ot a suitable box or raising 1 having a partition t dividing it into two separate compartments (t and TL it being about; twiee as large as t Near the partition 1. the eover '2 is extended upward to form an air chamber K. The top edge of the ease 1 has a tlange l to which the rover 2 may be serewed. The

l walls ol the ehamber may be east in one pieee of metal or glass. l prel'er. however, to have at least the trout wall ol the ehamber of glass in order that the aetion within the box may be visible. in this ease the glass l't'ront must be seeurely eemented in plane preferably in a groove 3 east in the bottom l and end pieees.

The rover 2 should be screwed to the llanges 1" with rubber strips between the two parts. so as to produee annir tight joint. .\n int-lined partition plate -lmay be formed in eontinuatitm ot' the partition 1, or it may be formed separately and serewetl to It and the side walls of the box. parallel plate (3 is fastened above plate l to the side walls of the ehamber and to the eover Q. In the spat-e between plates -tand t) a sliding tube reetangular in seetion is adapted to move. by

means of a bolt '7 threaded to the nut .3 and passing out through the rover Bend :nlapted to be turned by the wheel 8. This bolt has a eollar upon its upper end which is held in the parking box 9.

.\ir is admitted to the ehanlber (l by means of a pipe 10 whieh extends nearly to the bottom (it the ehaniber. This pipe ha a eollar 10* by whieh it is secured to thecover 2. onnerted to the pipe 10 is a suitable lan by whieh air may be tort-ed through the pipe to into the ehamber (1. Water is admitted to this ehamber from the pipe 12; its How may be regulated by the stop eoel; 13. in praetiee I prefer to have a small stream of water flowing into the ehambe all the time, and to keep the water at uniform height in the elnnnber. I provide an outlet pipe 14-, which is closed by a Valve 15. This valve is secured at the end ot a lever 16 \ihieh is pivoted between ears l7 rising from the bottom of the chamber. A linl; I8 is pivoted to theouter end of the lever to and I to a tloat It This lloat: is secured to an arm 20 which is pivotally secured between ears 21 which extend from the side wall of the chamber. When the Water rises in the cha mher G- it lifts the float and opens the discharge valve 15, thus keeping the water near one level. Instead of the'fan or blower 11', any form of pump to force the air through pipe 10 maybe used;

Communication is made from thechamber G with the chamber K through chamber K,

- the lower end of pipe 5 the air at once rises through the liquid into'cha'mber K and then passes into the distributing pipe 21. The chamber H is filled with water by meansofthe pipe 22, the flow being regulated by the stop cock 23. The height of the water in the chamber is regulated by a valve 24- and a float 25 arranged as are those in the chamber To admit air about the float 25 a small hole 26 is drilled in the top of the partition 1*. hen the sliding tube 5 is fully drawn up into its retaining chamber the air will pass from its lower end into the chamber H 'without being forced through the liquid in the chamberH. The lower the tube 5 is placed in the water, the more water in thesecond chamber the air must come in contact with before it escapes into the chamber K. Vhen the tube is depressed as far as possible, the .air ascends by the positive poles 27 upon which the oxygen collects and thus col leets the oxygen as it is formed. \Vhen fully depressed, a portion of the air will pass into the farther part of the chamber II and rise by the negative poles 28, thus assisting in the discharge of the hydrogen which collects upon these poles.

The positive and negative poles 27 and 28 I prefer to make of platinum. They are attached to a hard rubber plate 29 which is screwed to the cover 2 which has a rei-ztangular opening in it large enough to admit the electrodes to the chamber H. The platinum plates are held between ears 30 depending from the plate 29 by means of screws passing through the ears and the plates. The electric current is applied to the plate 27 bymeans of a Wire 34; held in a metal nut. 31-

which is secured to the plate 29 by a screw 32having a collar bearing against the under side of the plate 29. The outer end of this screw 32 is enlarged and held to the plate 27 by a screw 33 passing through the plate and into the screw 32, a Washer being placed between the electrode and the screw 32. The current leaves the negative pole by the wire 35, which is connected to the plate-28- in the same Way as the positive wire to the plate preferable for the process of electrolysis.

27. The hydrogen gasv collects at the negative plate 28 and then rises into the air space above. To'keep this gasfrom'mingling with the oxygen a partition 36 is cast t0 the back plate of the chamber H and screwed to the front plate and to the plate 29 so as to form a tight joint. A valve 37 is fitted to the bottom of a smallchamber 38. formed uponthe top plate 2 with a pressure spring above it adjusted to give the same tension as that produced by theair in the chamber K.' The chamber 38 has a covering plate 39 and to this plate a pipe 40 is attached to carry away the hydrogen gas.

Instead of attaching the blower or pump to theinlet pipe it may be connected to the outlet pipe 21. In place of pure water an" acidulated water formed by the addition of a little sulfuric or hydrochloric acid is When this is to be used, a separate supply pipe must be provided for the liquid supply to each chamber G and H, or separatefineans of admitting acid to the water as desired may be provided. In place of the electric motor 41 by which the tan is run, power may be supplied by a belt or gears or any device commonly used for the transmission of power.

The device shown is specially intended for use in private dwellings, but-the idea may be applied in many different ways. Where water power is to be had, the purifying and oxygenating of, the air may be done most cheaply, and the air then conducted by pipes asanany miles as may be necessary, and it may then be carried into'dwellings as is gas or water. In. public conveyances the water the chamber or without, as desired, and thus no an ideal svstem of ventilating and heating is possible at slight expense over the existing methods which at best simply warm or cool and purify the air without adding to its percentage of oxygen. The number of electrodes may be increased ordiminished at will also the strength of the current of elec. tricity and by modifying one or of these, it is possible to give any desired percentage of oxygen to the air. This 'makes my invention especially valuable in hospitals and for all invalids, as well as for all compelled to' live. in the large cities whose air is always more or less lacking in oxygen, and contaminated by smoke, dust and germs.

So far as I am aware, my invention combines for the first time the steps of washing the air and regenerating it by means of nascent oxygen in a single method and by means oxygen by electrolysis of the liquid and suit a 0 means for conducting the air through only that part of the receptacle oxygen is produced, whereby the oxygen is mixed with the air, while the hydrogen is kept separate from the air.

sired serving both as the means for washing the air and as the elect olyte which furnishes the oxygen in a form enabling it to be taken up by the air atthe same time that the air is washed. Although both the principles of purifying air by washing with Water and ot producing oxygen by electrolysis of wa- (5. .In a machine for purifying air, suitable ter have long been known, yet prior to my means for causing a stream of air to pass invention, no one has conceived the idea of through a body of water to remove imnuri combining these principles in a single procties from the air, means for decomposing the ess having for its objec vitalizing of the air. idea of simultaneously passing water and an electric current through the liquid electrolyte contaii'iing oxygen, whereby the liquid ren'mves impurities from the air by mechanical action, and supplies oxygen by the elee' trolytic action to the air, is novel with me.

claim,-

water by electrolysis, and suitable means for discharging separately the hydrogen and retaining the oxygen where it may mingle with the air current.

n a machine for purifying air, a to ceptacle having two separate compartmehts adapted to hold water or other fluids, electrodes arranged in the itferent compartments for decomposing the water and sepa- 1. The method of treating a compris l'atcly collecting the gases, means for causing passing the gas through a. liquid in mg a stream ot air to pass through the water which oxygen and another gas are being and then to pass through the compartment produced by electrolysis in such a manner that the oxygei'l is added to the gas being oxygenated while u other gas is kept from mingling therewith.

containing oxygen and take up oxygen which is there formed by electrolysis, and means tor separately discharging the hydrogen tormed by the electrical action.

2. The method of purityim air coinprish. i process of purifying and oxygenating ing passing it through a suit-a le hquid elecan" whlch comprises torclng an throu h any trolyte' and adi'ling to the air oxygen which 18 formed by electrolysis of the liquid adapted to wash and liquid perpurify the same, and termed in part of oxygen, and at the 'ormed in such a manner that the oxygen is same time subjecting this liquid to electrolyconclucted into t e air current while the' s s to produce oxygen separate from its other gaseous constituent of the electrolyte is prevented and means forcing the air through the other constituents and finally separating the other constituents from the oxygen, and allowing the oxygen to mingle with the puriied air.

9. A process of purifying and oxygenating air consisting of oreing air throu h a closed chamber containing a liquid adapted 40 liquid and cruising it to mix with the oxygen to wash and purify the air, then forcin while the hydrogen 1S separately conducted this purified air through another closed from the machine.

In a. machine for means itor chambe containing a liquid a duce oxygen and and at the apted to purifying air, suitable causing the air to pass through water in order that impuritles ma be re- )y electrolysis oi the liquld, and separating tuned in he water, combined with suitable the hydrogen trom the oxygen, allowm the means for electrolyzing the water through which the air passes, whereby to add oxygen keeping the hydrogen away from the air. to the purified air, and means for preventing a test nu'my whereof I have affixed my to hydrogen from mixing with the air. signature, in preseime of two witnesses.

5. In a machine for purifying air, an air- AN SON K. CROSS. tight receptacle adapted to contain water or Witnesses: other liquid, means for torclng a stream of F. R. RoULs'roNn,

air through the water, means for producing hszznrrr. 

